Chapter 507: Mateus
On April 5, Ajax took on Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, and the importance of this game for both sides is self-evident, this is the semi-final of the Champions League, after which they can compete for the Champions League title.
And for Bayern Munich, this semi-final is even more important, almost impossible to lose, in the early nineties, Bayern Munich's results declined strictly, last season Beckenbauer personally coached the team, regained the Bundesliga championship, this season Italian coach Trapattoni took over as the team's head coach, the team's performance has once again come to a big decline, now in the middle of the Bundesliga, the championship is almost hopeless, in the German Cup was also eliminated early, but in the Champions League entered the semifinals, Trapattoni is in desperate need of a good result in the Champions League to retain his position.
Therefore, at home, Trapattoni sent the strongest squad of the team in an attempt to win against Ajax and get the lead in the two-legged match, but unfortunately the goalkeeper Kahn, who has transferred this season, is still injured and cannot play.
Van Gaal also sent all the main forces in this game, especially in the midfield, he sent Ding Hongxing, Davies, Rijkaard, three midfielders with excellent defensive ability, aiming to stifle Bayern Munich's midfield attack.
He let Davies mark Sauer, who has excellent defensive skills, and let Ding Hongxing mark Matthaus, the core of Bayern Munich, these two people were stared at death, and Bayern Munich's creation force was more than half, and it is not surprising that their attack is not surprising, and there is an experienced Rijkaard in the midfield to check and fill the gaps, and Ajax's defense can be said to be solid.
Mateus looked at the Chinese teenager in front of him with interest, he has often heard people talk about the name Ding Hongxing recently, many people say that Ding Hongxing is very similar to him, they are the kind of free man with comprehensive skills, and his scoring ability is also very strong, Ding Hongxing can be said to be the most famous new star in European football recently, he also wanted to meet this young man, he didn't expect them to talk directly in the Champions League semifinals so soon, and it was Ding Hongxing who directly stared at himself.
Ding Hongxing is more than half a head taller than Mateus, but Mateus's momentum does not fall behind at all, he has unusually strong muscles, and has been a superstar for many years, he has a strong aura, and his self-confidence is also very strong, he doesn't believe that Ding Hongxing can defend himself at all, no matter how good he is, he is still an eighteen-year-old child, and Mateus has been playing professional games for more than eighteen years.
But to Matthaus's surprise, he was really targeted by an eighteen-year-old boy like Ding Hongxing, Ding Hongxing was like a piece of super glue clinging to him, making it difficult for him to catch the ball, even if he received the ball, it was difficult for him to deal with it, and the most uncomfortable thing for Matthaus was that Ding Hongxing was still constantly seeking to fight against his body.
If it was in his heyday, Mateus thought he would not be afraid of anyone's physical confrontation, but he is now a thirty-five-year-old player after all, and he has suffered a serious injury this season and has just recovered, and his recent physical fitness and physical condition are very average, and it is also because this game is too important that Trapattoni will send him on the field, otherwise he should continue to rest, in this case, he is certainly not Ding Hongxing's opponent in physical confrontation.
But Mateus is a very competitive person, he will never avoid the physical confrontation with the opponent, he thinks that it is equivalent to him admitting defeat, and the result of the frequent physical confrontation with Ding Hongxing is the rapid flow of his physical fitness, the first half played less than thirty minutes, he was a little unable to run, snorting and panting, which was unimaginable when he was in good shape.
Seeing that Mateus was already out of breath before he played any role, and Sauer was also stared at by Davies, Trapattoni's brows were furrowed, Bayern Munich this season was really unlucky, many important players were frequently injured, and now Kahn can't play, Papin, who is in a very average state, has been abandoned by him at all, and Mateus, who he has high hopes for, is also in a worrying state now, how can this fight against Ajax, who is in great form this season? If you can't win at home, it's even harder to play away.
Although Mateus is not physically supportive, Trapattoni must not be able to replace him before the end of the first half, which disrupts his tactical deployment, and secondly, it is also a very humiliating thing for Mateus, Trapattoni must take into account the face of the core of Bayern Munich, so he intends to replace Mateus in the second half.
But soon, Trapattoni paid the price for Mateus's face, in the 34th minute, Bayern Munich central defender Helmer passed the ball to Mateus, but Ding Hongxing reacted quickly, he suddenly started, a big stride in front of Mateus, and the ball was successful.
Mateus was shocked, he wanted to reach out and grab Ding Hongxing's jersey, but Ding Hongxing's explosiveness was too strong, he had already run out of several meters with the ball, how could Mateus catch up with him in this state now?
Mateus shouted loudly for his teammates to block Ding Hongxing, he himself is desperately chasing back, he is such a scrappy player, even if he is not in good shape, even if he knows that he can't catch up, he will not give up, and it is this spirit that makes him a superstar.
Ding Hongxing's speed was very fast, he quickly approached the penalty area, Helmer came up with a nervous face, just let Ding Hongxing break the ball, it was his mistake, if he couldn't prevent Ding Hongxing's goal, then he was a sinner of Bayern Munich.
Overmars and Finidi on the wing. George fired two arrows in unison, forward at high speed, and Litmanen also ran to the penalty area from the other direction, this tactic has been imprinted in their blood, from the moment Ding Hongxing broke the ball, they instinctively began to run, their running attracted the defense, creating a more relaxed environment for Ding Hongxing.
Ding Hongxing easily used his speed to wipe Helmer, the central defender who is more than 1.85 meters tall, his speed of recovery is his weakness, and after Ding Hongxing passed him, he could only cry out in vain.
The next thing is very simple, in the face of the desperate goalkeeper, Ding Hongxing gently picked it with his toes during the run, and the ball obediently crossed the goalkeeper's head, grazed the crossbar and fell into the net.
The entire Olympic Stadium in Munich was silent at this moment.